Hi, and welcome to DogParent. My name is Jessi and I am proud to call myself a “Dog Mother” (well…Dog Mum, to be exact). I created DogParent to celebrate all dogs and the people who love them. I’ve been a volunteer with animal welfare and rescue groups for a very long time and can truly say that I consider dogs to be the most beautiful, loving, wonderful creatures on earth. Second only to the wonderful people who open their hearts to them and embrace dogs as the family members they are (and always have been).

Poco and I in 2007.

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico with my husband and three beloved rescued dogs: one small (Lucia), one medium (Whiskey) and one large (Nacho). In January 2009, we lost our 12 year old angel, Poco, to cancer. You’ll see him a lot around these pages. He was a brilliant, Zen Buddhist master in a lush, red fur suit—and the kindest, sweetest dog.

DogParent will always strive to bring you fun and educational information. We look forward to seeing the dogs of our members in our Photos pages. The Training section will feature articles and products that fit with the latest in positive training methods. And all our dogs will benefit from the dog treat recipes and craft projects in our Treats and Crafts sections. Finally, while we aren’t veterinarians, we will share health information that we have found to be trustworthy and established in our Health section.

From recipes to training books, fun craft projects to important resources, we hope you’ll find DogParent a great community to be part of.